How do we connect readers with books they want to read in innovative and inviting ways? We asked book marketing experts at the Tandem Collective to share their tips and tricks.
When we’re asked about the future of storytelling, and what that looks like for readers and marketers alike, we have to acknowledge that we are entering a ‘self-aware era’. Never before have a generation of consumers been so aware of what they want and how they want it.
But how do we connect readers with the books they want to read in ways that feel new, innovative, and inviting? We share three key principles for driving effective reader engagement.
Intimate
When recommending books to readers, putting together round-up communications, or planning big marketing moves we have learned that people are craving intimacy more than ever. Perhaps it’s from being kept apart during a pandemic, consumers want personal recommendations specialised to their interests that feels like a conversation with a friend. A McKinsey report recently found that customers are 78% more likely to recommend a brand or company that offers a more personalised experience.
Book clubs that started online are now popping up again in real life spaces and are having their resurgence; bookish events are happening again – and better than simply ‘happening’ they’re flourishing, with online creators getting to meet other creators they’d previously only had online relationships with.
Think intimate, think relationship building, think about remembering what someone loves to read, and on the most granular level say, “I saw this book and thought of you.”
Immersive
With the rise of consumerism and the binge-ability of Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Max – you name it, we know that readers expect more from their media. This means more detail, more escapism, more world-building, more drama. (Screen adaptations have never been making more book sales, than right now!)
If you can find a way to transport your reader, be it through any of the senses, the more memorable the experience will become. When our Tandem Readalongs (™) first started, we sent out packages to readers with elements to embrace all five senses; for example, they had pine incense to burn as our characters walked through the forest, they had the recipe and ingredients to use as our characters bonded over baking bread, and gingerbread cookies to snack on at a pivotal moment in the book.
Is there an element of a book you could bring to life for your children, or for your classroom or community?
We’re passionate about ensuring that children’s first experience with books are of books they’re going to love (rather than writing a bad book off as a bad hobby) which will turn them into life-long readers. A way that we can do that is by trying to connect, and forge memories, on every level.
Inclusive
Never before have we had the means to make reading as accessible as possible for as many readers as possible.
Audiobook sales skyrocketed during the pandemic and haven’t shown signs of slowing. As an agency who works closely with creators on a daily basis, we’ve never seen more content around ‘digital reading’ (aka eBook, Kindle, Audiobook reading) as we are currently.
But, of course, it’s not only the formats we should be celebrating to demonstrate inclusivity. Every reader deserves to see themselves in a book, hear a character that speaks like them, or has a background similar to their own. Nothing is more comforting than knowing you’re not alone, and if that support comes from a fictional character in a book, then so be it.
By embracing these principles, we can inspire readers to continue to pick up books, share them with friends, and celebrate them in their own ways.
The Tandem Collective is a team of passionate freelancers, with a range of skills spanning social media, events, project management, video, podcast, web and graphic design. You can find them on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest.
